1. Field
The present embodiments relate to an imaging apparatus which picks up an image of a subject to generate image data.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, various technologies with regard to exposure adjustment of an imaging apparatus have been devised. For example, in inventions of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-84455, when a gradation conversion characteristic is switched, by switching a target value of exposure control depending on a selected gradation characteristic, an output level is kept constant.
Moreover, there has been known a phenomenon that dark area gradation of image data is blacked out by shooting a subject having large difference in brightness. Therefore, in inventions of Japanese Patent No. 2,663,189, gradation is compressed by increasing a gain of dark area gradation, resulting in improvement of blacked-out.
In the inventions of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-84455, regardless of a brightness pattern of a subject, a constant exposure target value that depends on the gradation conversion characteristic is employed. Therefore, when, like gradation compression of the inventions of Japanese Patent No. 2,663,189, optimum exposure adjustment differs depending on the brightness pattern of the subject, proper exposure adjustment cannot be performed.